The guitars you don’t play as much but can’t bring yourself to sell them

[rmp]

Originally Posted by rllink

I find these threads and the posts interesting and I read through them. But for me the idea of buying, accumulating and selling guitars is just not that compelling. That said, I have one that I seldom play. I think that I wouldn't sell it, but I would trade it if the opportunity came along

so it goes right, but sometimes you just get "an itch"..

and you scratch it,,,.

Like archtops... I had that itch about 10 years ago. Picked up a few moderately priced Epiphones, they were nice. they played good they sounded "JAZZ".. but.. any guitar can be used for jazz..

So I eventually sold a few off but kept a discontinued one (A Regent)..

I played it like once a year.. what's the point???

I did what you mentioned I traded it, along with a few other things for a small Marshall DSL 40 combo. I use that sucker all the time!

that was a Win!

I have a few SGs.. They are probably the most comfortable and easy players out there. Light, great fret access.. I just don't play them a ton.. But the idea of selling them,, it's a struggle.. cuz when I yank one out of the case and start playing it, I'll use it for a few weeks...

if I sell em, well,, eventually, I'll be buying another. So you see,, it's a really first world problem..

[MrDB]

I'm down to 4. Just listed and sold my 000-28 last month. Great guitar but nearly identical tonewise to my 000-42 so it rarely got played.

[buddyhu]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

I am in the same position. I have a bunch of very nice guitars, but I could really stand to sell off some of them. Some of the guitars I just don't play very much anymore.

The trouble is, when I play the ones that don't get used much, I realize how good they sound. And then I hold off selling them.

I have room, I don't have to get the money out of the few guitars I don't play that often, so I don't make the move the sell them.

- Glenn

This ^.

When I have sold a guitar in the past, I end up regretting it about 50% of the time, because how I play and what sound I want from my guitars keeps changing. So, in general, I am disinclined to sell guitars. Just because I am not playing a guitar much right now doesn’t necessarily mean I wouldn’t want to be playing it in a couple of years.

If I needed to raise some cash to get something else I want or need, that might change my thinking. But, for now, there is little reason for me to let go of a good guitar that isn’t being played much. YMMV.

[Jeff Mc]

I like the idea of downsizing. I have a dozen acoustics and one electric. I basically play one a day so some don't get played once a week. The electric probably gets played the least, but I have sold off electrics twice before and then got the electric itch and end up buying another. It is also my least expensive guitar so it will stay.

I am going to the B.I.G. event in early September and it is hard to resist buying another guitar at that thing plus my wife suggested it as a 75th birthday present. I have purchased 3 fairly pricey acoustics in the past two years with no particular prior intent to do so. I am already one guitar over closet capacity, so am pondering selling off several. Trouble is, I don't have any that I don't like. I have a Collings OM1 -T that is probably the most likely candidate, but I live close to Collings and those guys are my friends so I feel some local loyalty plus it is a great guitar.

Ah heck, think I will just go on as I am and let my wife and kids deal with it when I kick the bucket.

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by KevWind

All of them, But Ill keep em

Same here, Kev. They all bring something but there's one I think I could move on from.

[bufflehead]

The guitar I play least is my dreadnought. It's also my best-sounding guitar. If I were to start gigging again, which increasingly seems unlikely, it's the guitar I would probably use most. But if I'm just playing in my own house it's a lot more guitar than I need.

I've almost decided to sell it a few times now, but they I'll play it and realize that I can't part with it yet.

I probably only take it out of the case once a month anymore. A shame.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by Mbroady

Did you once have a collection of guitars but eventually thinned the heard to 1 or 2 guitars. If yes, How hard was it for ya. Was it due to financial constraints, or was it more of a spiritual journey? Did you find the one and all others took a back seat?

I do play all my guitars once a week but the Majority of time is spent with a Martin D-35 and a Stonebridge OM33-SR. Though I toy with the idea of selling the rest, I just can’t bring my self to do it. I know. I know......a real third world problem

I am fortunately that I’m not in a position where I need to sell but I do believe that one day It would be nice to lighten the load, How about you?

Q1 - Yes. 1975. I bought my first place - a one bedroom flat. The mortgage repayments were eyewatering, and I sold everything including my Martin dreadand bought a "Tama" (which was pretty but no tone. I still miss my 1915 L-3 and my Martin 2-17.

Do I play all my instruments now? No way. I have a fine Dobro, and a wonderfulmandolin, but have not had the opportunity to play either.

15 months petty much of lockdowns have made my 12 strings pretty redundant, and I haven't used my dreads much, but

The best interest on cash is .5% p.a., and funds are over valued presently, and there is nothing else I want to buy that would necessitate selling them, so I'll hang on for now.

[Mbroady]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

I am in the same position. I have a bunch of very nice guitars, but I could really stand to sell off some of them. Some of the guitars I just don't play very much anymore.

The trouble is, when I play the ones that don't get used much, I realize how good they sound. And then I hold off selling them.

I have room, I don't have to get the money out of the few guitars I don't play that often, so I don't make the move the sell them.

- Glenn

Definitely a factor in why there is nothin on the chopping block. One strum and any thoughts of selling fade

Originally Posted by buddyhu

This ^.

When I have sold a guitar in the past, I end up regretting it about 50% of the time, because how I play and what sound I want from my guitars keeps changing. So, in general, I am disinclined to sell guitars. Just because I am not playing a guitar much right now doesn’t necessarily mean I wouldn’t want to be playing it in a couple of years.

If I needed to raise some cash to get something else I want or need, that might change my thinking. But, for now, there is little reason for me to let go of a good guitar that isn’t being played much. YMMV.

That adds to the incentive not to sell. Who knows what’s gonna float my boat in a couple of years.

The other incentive not to sell is most of the guitars I now have fill a specific purpose. The Voyage air and Rainsong are prime examples. I don’t play either of them all that much, but I do not want to fly or go camping with my D-35 or my Stonbridge OM. The voyage air and rainsong were purchased specifically for that reason. Plus, though I don’t play them that much they are actually really good playing and sounding guitars.

[Tannin]

I have a couple. First, the 12-string. I've put in more hours on 12-strings than 6-strings over the last 50 years and it's a perfectly good 12-string, less than six months old, but I'm not playing it much. You see, I switched to fingerstyle a couple of years ago and that changes everything. I used to do a lot of fast, complex-rhythm strumming salted with hammer-ons and pull-offs and picked-note runs. 12-string suited that approach very well. But I don't do that stuff any more - I don't use a pick at all. Make no mistake, the transformation has been a very good thing. Overall I'm a way better player: more accurate, fewer mistakes, much better tone. But the downside is that I can't seem to get the hang of fingerstyle 12-string. So I probably should sell it and replace it with another nice 6-string. I'd love a spruce and Blackwood Maton (Artist, Very May, or the 75th Anniversary one) and that would give me room for it.

Every now and then I pick up the 12 thinking "Yep, time to let this one go" but it does make a nice noise (even with me playing it) and I decide to keep it after all. Besides, if I sell it, I'll be forever wondering whether my playing has evolved enough to benefit from 12-string yet, and sooner or later I'll only wind up buying another one, so perhaps it's cheapest and best just to keep this one. Maybe.

[Tannin]

Second, the Maton SRS-60C. I actually play it a lot because it's my cheapest guitar and when I'm practicing rather than playing I try to put the wear on that one rather than the Angel (which is unique and doesn't deserve to be hammered with endless practice) or the Messiah (which is another expensive one). The SRS is a good guitar, at one time it was the only one I had, but it's not in the same class as the other two. If I sold it, I could get a Tommy Emmanuel Maton 808 for well under three grand: they are beautiful guitars and good value for money. That could be my practice workhorse: a clear step up in class but still practical and reasonably inexpensive. What's not to like?

Well, the SRS is a little bit special in its own way. It's a custom shop instrument, one of a numbered set of only 25 and the cedar top makes it sweeter and more mellow than the usual spruce. And I do play it a lot, more than any of my others. If I sold it, I'd have regrets.

So I dither.

[Steve DeRosa]

Looking to relocate in the very near future, so I'll really be thinning the herd as a matter of necessity; got a number of odd pieces and specialty instruments I haven't played in years (since I went almost exclusively electric) - those'll go first so I can keep the high-use stuff and the "his-&-hers" matched sets my wife and I put together...

[Slothead56]

Interesting topic. I have 4 nice Martins and a Gurian that I bought new in ‘78 and reacquired 5 years ago after selling it in ‘92.

I do play them all but really only two of them regularly. Sentimentality keeps them in the closet. They’re worth more than money and, thankfully, I haven’t found myself in a position where I’d have to get rid of them.

Kind of keeps my GAS in check, I guess.

[Ed66]

Instinct tells me I have more than my talent deserves. I break it down this way to justify what I have. I have a couple hanging in my (not at home) office which I play from 5 to 15 minutes a day just for breaks and to clear my head. I have a Furch Little Jane that I bought pre-Covid as a traveler, but have not put to real use yet. Then I have 6 that hang around my house. I imagine I'll always keep the first 3, at least until I retire. So practically I'm always trying to figure out if 6 is the right number in my regular rotation.

Of those 6, 3 get played significantly each week and the other 3 more occasionally. The 3 that get less play would be the "sale" targets, but when I play each of them they are just exceptional in their own right. Since I'm still 10 or so years from retirement, I'd hate to deprive myself of the fun I'll have with them at that point so I feel no urgency to sell them.

I do know I'm in the one-in-one-out space right now; so I don't think I have to worry about the collection growing.

[Tannin]

Ed66, once you retire you need more guitars, not fewer!

[Denandannie]

I have a high end biulders edition Taylor that I find disappionting. It sounds fair unplugged but like crap on the amp. I just can't seem to dial in a good tone. Too much treble for my taste. I'd kick it out of the stable if it would be worth it.